Natural Hair Rinses Are Easy To Make And Great For Your Hair
Questing for the holy grail of natural hair care? Rosemary is one of those “magic bullets” that will help make your hair grow faster, prevent flakes and really make your hair shine. One of the easiest ways to capture these benefits is to make an herbal hair tea or herbal hair rinse. There are just two or three simple ingredients to this rosemary hair rinse (depending on what benefits you are wanting). But before we go grabbing all the ingredients to get started, it’s important to understand why rosemary is good for your hair.
Rosemary Is Good For Your Hair
Rosemary is easy to grow, it is easy to find (bet you have some in your pantry) and rosemary is good for your hair. Rosemary contains certain organic compounds that help to stimulate your scalp circulation, that in-turn promotes new and faster hair growth. (And who doesn’t want that?) What really also makes rosemary good for your hair is that it works to condition your hair, making it really shiny and helps with scalp health by relieving itch,y dry scalp and dandruff. It’s not just good on chicken, chica, rosemary is simply good for your hair.
Rosemary plants have many phytochemicals which constitute potential sources of natural compounds as phenolic diterpenes, flavonoids phenolic acids and essential oils. About 90% of the antioxidant activity is attributed mainly to a high content of non-volatile components as carnosic acid and carnosol (phenolic diterpenes) and rosmarinic acid.1 So, what does all that science mean to you? It means that the phytochemicals in rosemary the stimulate which helps promote new hair growth, are anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, and help hair shine. Did I mention? Rosemary is good for your hair.
How To Make Rosemary Herbal Hair Rinse
Making this natural hair rinse couldn’t be easier. I used a French Press (easier to strain that way) but you could brew this up in a pot on your stove or in a tea pot and just strain after the rinse has cooled and the brewing is complete.
This recipe makes 4 cups of rosemary infused hair tea (enough for approximately 2 applications).
Rosemary Hair Rinse Supplies
- French Press or tea pot, or a pot that can hold 4 cups of water
- 4 cups of water
- Fresh Rosemary (about 10-15 sprigs) OR 4 TBS organic dried rosemary OR 10-15 drops of organic rosemary essential oil
- OPTIONAL: 3 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar (for deep conditioning if your hair is really dry) or 3 TBS Distilled White Vinegar (for normal conditioning)
- Strainer (if brewing in a tea pot or on the stove top)
- Container for storage that can hold 4 cups
Rosemary Hair Rinse Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and place in vessel of choice (french press, tea pot).
- Add rosemary (fresh, dried or rosemary essential oil)
- Allow to infuse (steep) for at least 30 minutes. I prefer to allow the rosemary to infuse until the water has cooled to room temperature. You could even allow this to steep overnight if desired.
- Strain and pour into vessel of choice (plastic is always safest for use in the bathroom).
- Optional: Add the vinegar and stir to combine
That’s it. Now you have a conditioning, scalp stimulating, growth promoting, hair shining herbal hair rinse. Now, What to do with it?
How To Use Your Rosemary Natural Hair Rinse
Grab your vessel, (It’s plastic right? Don’t want anyone to get cut on broken glass in the shower) head to the shower and wash your hair the way your normally would. After you rinse out your shampoo, pour about 1/2 of the rosemary hair rinse over your entire head (don’t get it in your eyes) and allow it to saturate your hair. Allow it to sit on your hair and scalp for 3 or 4 minutes (go ahead and shave your legs while you are waiting or pamper yourself with a foot scrub). Then you have two options: 1. Rinse your hair with the coolest water you can stand (this further closes the cuticle on the hair shaft and also helps to increase serious SHINE), or 2. Do not rinse and just leave the shower. If you used vinegar the “sour” smell will go away when your hair dries – but your hair will still smell like rosemary. For simplicity, I’ve summarized the steps below:
Hair Rinse Usage Directions
- Wash your hair as you normally would.
- Rinse the shampoo, No Poo or Low Poo (depending on what you use) from your hair.
- Pour approx. 1/2 the herbal tea rinse over your head (don’t get it in your eyes!)
- Allow to sit on hair for 3-5 minutes
- EITHER: Rinse out with cool (as cool as you can stand) water or leave in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I still use this hair rinse if I No Poo or Low Poo?
A: Yes! Just substitute this rinse for your normal vinegar or citric acid hair rinse.
Q: What will my hair smell like?
A: If you leave the rinse in, it will smell like rosemary when it dries. If you don’t want your hair to smell like rosemary, rinse out of hair with cool water.
Q: Is this natural hair rinse safe for kids?
A: Yes! This is absolutely safe for children. Just like always, don’t get it in their eyes and don’t let them drink it (it shouldn’t hurt them, but better safe than sorry)
Q: Will this help dandruff or my itchy, dry scalp?
A: YES! Rosemary is known to help relieve dandruff and itchy, dry scalp. You can also try this Aloe Honey hair treatment.
Q: How often can this herbal hair tea be used?
A: You can use this every time you wash your hair if desired.
Q: How do I store what is left after my first use?
A: Keep the left over hair rinse in the fridge. Warm slightly or allow to come to room temp before next use.
Q: Why do you recommend I rinse with cool water?
A: Cool water helps to close the cuticle on the hair shaft and increases how super shiny your hair is.
Q: Is this hair rinse safe for color treated hair?
A: Yes! This will not effect your color treated hair.
Q: I swim or exercise often, can I still use this natural hair rinse?
A: Yes! If you swim frequently, always be sure to wet your hair first before getting in the pool to minimize chlorine absorption into your hair. If you exercise frequently, this is a great addition to your post work-out routine.
If you are interested in going ‘poo free (not using shampoo to have beautiful hair) then please take a moment to learn how to Never Shampoo Again, How To Wash Your Hair No Poo Style
Feel free to join our No Poo / Low Poo support group on facebook.
Have A Great Natural Herbal Hair Rise Recipe? Please Share Below
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This post has been shared at Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy
CITATIONS
1. Bradley P. (2006) British Herbal Compendium: v. 2: A Handbook of Scientific Information on Widely Used Plant Drugs, British herbal Medicine Association, Bournemouth.